Little Things
by liam-paynes
Summary: Ryder watched Marley walk away from his locker, her eyes still plastered on his mind. He sighed as she rounded the corner. He wanted so badly for her to be his.
1. Chapter 1

Ryder watched as Marley and Jake walked down the hallway. He felt his jaw tighten in anger and he stomped away toward his locker. His day was _not _getting any better. First he learns that he has to have a 'special' teacher to teach him the simplest stuff. And now, he see's the girl he likes walking with another guy. That's just _peachy_.

Not to mention that Ryder has to be the main male dancer at Sectionals, when he has the hardest time figuring out the moves. He should've just let Jake get it. But no, Jake didn't want to take _everything _away from Ryder, starting with Marley.

That's what pissed Ryder off the most. Jake talked about her like she was a prize. Like he has already won her and took her home to keep her forever. Ryder knew how that was going to end. Jake would find someone that was more special than Marley, and break her heart to get to another girl. Ryder could barely stand the thought of Marley heartbroken in his mind, let alone in reality. Marley was sure as hell not a worthless prize to be won. She was a beautiful girl with talent.

He leaned his forehead against the cool metal on his locker and shut his eyes. Stop, Ryder! Stop thinking about Marley!

"Hey Ryder! Are you okay?"

Speak of the devil. He could smell Marley's sweet perfume as he opened his eyes and opened his locker. "Yeah, I'm fine." Marley nodded slowly and leaned against the locker beside his.

"You ready for Sectionals?" Marley asked him, her eyes lighting up. He melted inside at her expression. Her eyes were wide and bright, her smile was blinding and her nose was slightly scrunched. "Yeah, I'm ready!"

"Thats good! Well, I'll talk to you later, Ryder!" she said, patting his back goodbye as she walked away, her curtain of brown hair spilling down her back in waves. He watched her walk away and sighed.

He wanted so badly for her to be his.

* * *

Sectionals came up faster than anyone planned for.

They were backstage getting ready, and Ryder had to find Jake. Ryder could not master the Gangnam Style dance moves in time, so Jake had to be the lead man.

He found Jake holding both of Marley's hands and giving her a pep talk. Only Ryder noticed the paleness in her face, and how she was already sweating before the dancing and bright lights. He could see Jake getting closer, and his heart ached.

"Hey Jake" Ryder said, stepping out from his hiding place behind a curtain. When Marley saw Ryder, she smiled a small smile and dropped Jake's hands. Jake looked at Ryder, annoyed. "What?" he snapped.

"I need to tell you something" Ryder said anxiously, his eyes going from Marley to Jake. Jake sighed. "Well..can it wait?"

Ryder ignored his question and pulled him aside, satisfied with himself. "Look man, you're doing the lead man dancing part tonight. I can't do it good enough" Ryder told him, patting him on the shoulder. Jake looked at him in confusion.

"Really?" Jake asked in disbelief. Ryder nodded and gave him a tight lipped smile. Jake smiled a small smile and walked toward Brittany, and they started practicing some moves for the show.

Ryder rubbed his bottom lip and looked back at Marley. She was looking at where Jake walked to, her eyes showing disappointment. Her face looked so delicate. With the white skin and her face just looked..._thinner_. She looked at herself in the mirror and rubbed her neck area causiously. Ryder watched in confusion as she rubbed beneath her eyes and blinked rapidly. What was up with her acting like that?

He looked at her harder and noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and the amount of makeup she used to try to hide it. Her hair didn't look as lush as it usually did. She looked exhausted. He saw her take deep breaths as the New Directions were called up on stage.

"Hey, good luck Marley!" Ryder said, patting Marley on the back lightly. He flinched at how cold her skin seemed. She turned to him and smiled. "Thanks, Ryder."

* * *

When Marley passed out, Ryder was the closest person to her.

There they were, on the stage, impressing the audience and judges with Gangnam Style, when Marley's vision turned blurry. She could barely see the face of Kitty, who was smirking at her from over the shoulder. Marley's head felt light and her eyes drooped as she struggled to continue the dance moves. There was a sharp pain in her stomach and her arms dropped limply to her sides in defeat. She felt exhausted.

Ryder noticed her strange movement and moved toward her. "Marley? Are you alright?" he asked, putting his hand on the small of her back. She breathed with her mouth open and, without a word, dropped to the ground with a thud.

The music ended as soon as Marley hit the ground, so only Ryder at first went to her side. He looked out at Ms. Rose in the audience and flinched as he saw her stand up in confusion.

The other New Directions finally noticed that Marley was unconcious, so they crowded around her and Ryder.

"What the hell happened?" Jake asked, looking at Ryder expectantly. Ryder's mind was scrambling, making him unable to answer Jake. "I-I don't know, jake. But we have to get her off stage. Now" ryder said, noticing Finn's hand gestures to get off the stage.

Ryder scooped Marley up bridal style and carried her toward the choir room.

* * *

**So I guess I need to do a disclaimer. I don't own Glee, or any of the characters, and sadly I don't own Ryder so yeah whatever. More coming soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Why's she pass out?"

"Is she sick?"

"She didn't die, did she?"

Ryder rolled his eyes at Brittany's question as he set Marley on the floor in the choir room. "No, Brittany, she isn't dead!"

Brittany breathed a sigh of relief and you could practically feel the whole room judging her.

"She looks sick" Finn observed, rubbing his chin in thought. He glanced back at Mr. Shue, who was talking to a Sectionals official. He looked concerned, and angry.

"I wonder what they're talking about" Mercedes asked in a low voice, looking at Quinn beside her. Quinn shrugged, biting her bottom lip and looking down at Marley. Then she looked up at Jake, and shot him a glare.

"See! What did I tell you, Jake? Marley is _sure _not at her best, right now" Quinn told him, hitting him on the arm. Jake's jaw tightened as he clutched where she hit him. "Okay, so you think _I _made her pass out?"

"Not technically. The pressure of being perfect did" Quinn snapped, crossing her arms. The gesture challenged Jake to rebut to that, but he had no words to say. "Yeah, that's what I thought" Quinn added, ending the conversation entirely. Kitty stood beside Jake, her face blank. Little did anyone know, it was her fault.

"Okay guys. You have at least 5 minutes to get back on that stage, or you'll be disqualified" Mr. Shue said, observing the kids around him. "We have to go back out there, guys. It's what Marley would have wanted" Tina said, gesturing to the passed out girl on the floor. Mostly, everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll stay with Marley" Jake offered, making his way to kneel to the ground. But Kitty had a death hold on his arm, making him jerk back up. "No, Jake. You can't. You're a main dancer! Now that Marley is unable to sing, we need all the help we can get" Kitty said.

"Make Ryder dance! It was his part first, anyway!" Jake protested, gesturing toward Ryder. Ryder opened his mouth to answer, but Kitty beat him to it. "He can't. Because, before the performance, I made him practice some dance moves with me when..when I stepped on his foot and he twisted his ankle. He told me that he'd have you do it so it wouldn't ruin our chances of winning. So he just stood in the back of every formation and toughed it out."

Ryder's mouth was ajar with shock. Why was Kitty defending him. Jake looked pissed as he looked down at Ryder.

"Then.. Ryder should stay with Marley? When she wakes up, he'll explain to her what happened" Finn said, patting Ryder on the back. Jake pulled Ryder up by his jacket in fury.

"What the hell, Lynn? This is bullshit! You know I like her" he said, his teeth clenched. Ryder's jaw tightened and he pushed Jake's hands away. "Yeah, I'm aware."

Jake opened his mouth to answer, but Kitty tugged on his arm. "Come on Jake. Lets win this for Marley."

It made Ryder mad at the way she said Marley's name. Like it was poisen in her mouth.

Ryder watched everyone file out, including an angry Jake. Ryder was oddly pleased with himself. He was pleased that he didn't chicken out and let Jake stay with her. He fist bumped the air, realizing that he was alone with Marley. But then he wasn't excited to remember that she wasn't doing okay.

He noticed that the usual pink in her rosy cheeks were gone, instead her face was ghostly pale. Now he could see the dark circles under her eyes from sleepless nights, and that made him sad. She didn't look happy.

He finally watched as her eyes fluttered open and a look of pain filled her features. She looked at Ryder and scratched her head in confusion.

"W-What happened?" she asked, sitting up. Ryder cauciously kept a hand on her lower back to steady her. "You passed out just as soon as Gangnam Style finished." Ryder explained, rubbing her back.

"Marley. I need to ask you something" Ryder asked, all serious. Marley looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed together. She began to shake as she pulled her legs toward her chest. "Marley?"

Marley started bawling. Her body shook with sobs as she rested her head on Ryder's shoulder. "I can't do this anymore, Ryder. I can't."

Ryder let her cry and he wrapped his arms around her shaking figure.

"I hate myself, Ryder. I hate how I look the most. I hate how I look so much, that I make myself throw up. I need to be thinner. I can't gain anymore weight. I need to be the perfect size. So I throw up to make myself smaller. It's gross, I know. But I can't help it" Marley sobbed, tears streaming down her face. She held eye contact with Ryder before looking down at the floor in shame. Ryder sat there silently, taking it all in.

"Marley. Look at me" Ryder demanded. Marley slowly took her eyes off the ground and looked at Ryder's face. Her eyes were sparkling with unfallen tears.

"Marley Rose, you are beautiful" Ryder started, making Marley smile. "You don't need to change how thin you are, because you're the perfect size. At least to me, anyway. Nobody's perfect, Marley. Thank God for that. I'm not perfect, either. I hate myself, too. Believe it or not."

Marley looked at him in surprise. "Why do you hate yourself? You're quarterback. You fit in with the popular kids. You're attractive. Why would you hate yourself?" Marley asked. Ryder sighed and wiped away a tear that made its way out of Marley's eye.

"Because, I'm stupid. All I do is study study study, but I still manage to get the worst grades possible. Do you know why I'm stupid, Marley? It's because I'm dyslexic. I was told I need extra help, and that makes me feel worthless. Stupid people don't help with anything. They _can't _help with things because their too stupid to help. I'm worthless."

He placed his hands over his eyes and rubbed them in frustration, his face turning red with anger. Marley shook her head and removed his hands and put them into hers. "Ryder, you are not worthless. You don't have to be a rocket scientist in life to make it through. You're nice, and kind, and your voice is a total turn on. You're perfect as it is."

Marley wasn't just saying that to make him feel better. She realized that she actually meant it. She loved the sound of his voice when he sang and she loved how he was nice to everyone, and he was cute.

The Jake flashed through her mind.

She thought Jake was the one she wanted. But when she looked into Ryder's brown eyes, she felt at home. Like she can spill all of her secrets without being judged. She felt comfotable around him. When she was around Jake, she worried on how her stomach looked. Because she noticed that he looked at her chest a few times.

Ryder half smiled and played with her fingers. "Do you want to make a deal?" he asked, looking at Marley from under his lashes. She sniffed and looked at him in confusion. "What kind of deal?"

"We'll help each other. We'll be there for each other through everything. Alright?" Ryder offered, leaning forward toward her. Marley looked at his lips to his eyes. "Together? You'll help me?" she squeaked, feeling greatful for him.

"Together. We'll help each other" he said. Marley grinned and threw her arms around his chest, squeezing tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, and she closed her eyes. This felt nice. She liked how this felt. She rested her head on his shoulder as he kissed her temple.

She leaned back so that they were face to face. Ryder raised an eyebrow as Marley put one hand on his cheek and kissed him full on the lips. He grabbed her waist gently as they pulled away.

"I really like you, Marley" Ryder confessed, brushing a piece of her hair off of her forehead. Blood seemed to flow back to her cheeks as her face lit up. "I..I think I like you, too."

Ryder smiled. That was good enough for him.

* * *

After their performance ended, the New Directions filed back into the choir room. They all had smiles on their faces and they were buzzing with excitement.

"That...was amazing!" Jake Puckerman commented as Kitty jumped on his back in excitement. His face turned to Marley and Ryder, who were holding hands and still on the ground. Marley was eating a sandwich that her mom got her from Subway.

"How are you doing, Marley?" Jake asked, shoving Kitty off of his back and pushing Ryder away so that Jake was right next to her.

"I'm fine, Jake. Just tired" Marley answered, reaching for Ryder's hand. He grabbed it and took his place beside her. Jake looked from Ryder, to Marley, to their intertwined hands and stood up quickly.

"What. The. Hell?" Jake said, his words choppy.

"Marley, I thought you liked me! We were practically a thing just before Sectionals. Now you run to pretty boy after a fall onstage? Talk about mixed signals! You can't do that to me!" Jake added, pointing at Marley. Marley looked down, her eyes shining with tears again. Everyone in the choir room had their full attention on them.

"And you, Ryder? I thought we had a _deal? _You told me that if you got the lead dance part, I could have her? What happened to being civilized? You know my biggest secret, and I know yours. What happened to being bros, man?" Jake asked, his voice raising.

"Stop, Jake. Just stop. Do you hear yourself? You act like Marley is a _prize to be won_. But she's not. She's a human being with feelings. Andyou can't keep stepping on them like you have been. She deserves to have someone that she can trust, and that won't fuck around with other girls" Ryder defended, getting into Jake's face.

"So you think she wants _you_? You think you're all special just because you're retarted. But news flash, nobody likes a 16 year old boy that is stupider than a kindergardener" Jake said, his face red. Ryder's face paled and he looked around at everyone staring at Jake in astonishment.

Ryder started taking deep breaths as he ran out of the room. Marley dropped her sandwich and stood up, swaying a bit. She pushed Quinn and Santana away as they tried to make her sit back down.

"How could you say that to him?" she asked Jake, pushing his shoulders. "I thought you were different, Jake. But you're not. You're just like those rude football guys that would call my mom names in the cafateria. And you should be ashamed."

And with that said, Marley ran out of the choir room, chasing after Ryder.

* * *

**Disclaimer; I don't own Glee. or any of the characters. Or Subway.**


End file.
